5 People share their terrible first dates which turned into relationships

Unless you're in that incredibly lucky minority, first dates tend to unpleasant experiences. While Hollywood movies lead us to believe that they will be dimly lit, romantic encounters that inevitably unfold into healthy, loving relationships – in most cases, you'll find you either have nothing in common with your dinner date, or that they are downright weird. But we live to tell the tale, and they certainly do make for amusing stories to tell your friends and colleagues the next day.

But while we tend to assume that first dates can only go two ways: disastrously, or surprisingly well, it turns out that there's another middle ground. These five people have spilled the beans on how their terrible first dates turned into long-term relationships...

1. This story is super sweet

"This girl I knew called me out of the blue one day. She and I dated off and on during college, but it just did not work. She called to tell me she had just gotten laid off. Since we were in the same business, she figured she would get the word out that she was looking for a new job. She sounded so sad that I just asked her out to dinner. No intention of ever seeing her again.

"We got married the next fall. 27 years ago."

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2. Sometimes it's just a case of first date jitters

"My husband was too chicken to ask for my number so he asked my cousin for it. It took 6 months of texting for me to agree to go out with him. When we finally did go out, all he did was talk about his sons mother and he drank waaay too much. I had no intention to ever go out with him again. I ran into him again about a week later. It was super awkward but he mustered up the courage to ask me out again. I felt so bad for the guy. The second date was actually amazing and we have been inseparable ever since. That was about 6 years ago."

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3. What a gentleman

"Back in high school I was playing handball when for once a girl joined in. I was in the highest square and gave it up so that she could have it. Four years later we've been inseparable ever since and are planning on getting married next year."

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4. Worst location ever

"I've been dating my boyfriend now for almost four years and we live together. Things are great; we met on Tinder while both living in Hawaii. But on our first date, he took me to a seemingly nice restaurant, and there was a GIANT cockroach running across the floor right in front of our table during dinner. He tried to block my view by sitting in front of it, but I definitely saw it! Then, after dinner, he tried to kiss me, but I was nervous and turned my head, blocking his kiss. I really liked him but was worried that I ruined it by being so awkward. My roommates convinced me to text him after saying 'I should have kissed you', and the rest is history!"

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5. This girl literally ran away from her date

"I was studying abroad and didn’t want to really date anyone, since I had to go back to the U.S. after getting my Masters. But when my now-boyfriend asked me out, I just couldn’t resist. We met up at the [cinema] – I had told him I wanted to watch Going in Style, and he had already bought the tickets. We unknowingly went inside the wrong screen and there was a completely different movie playing in French. He was confused and thought this was really the movie I picked, and I kept wondering why he had chosen this over the one I suggested. We both sat there in awkward silence during half the movie... we felt so awkward and there was no phone signal. We literally started writing messages to each other and just handing the phone back and forth. It broke the ice because we laughed about it so much afterwards.

We then went for a drink and started walking down the street. I started thinking about how I was having a great time and how I didn’t want to like anyone because I didn’t want to do long distance once I went back home. I literally panicked, ran away from him, got into a cab and left. Afterwards, I couldn't believe what I had done. There was an exchange of very awkward messages the next few days and then we decided to try again. We have now been officially together for eight months and it's going amazingly. We’re doing long distance between the U.S. and Dubai, but he will move here in 2018."

Credit: Pexels

Well, there you have it. Next time you have an underwhelming date, maybe give them another chance - you never know what could happen...